A man has died and a woman was injured after a fire ripped through the garage and parts of a townhouse north of Toronto.
Around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, firefighters rushed to a residence in a densely populated subdivision near Markham’s Pillar Rock Crescent and Hazelton Avenue area.
When firefighters arrived, they observed a large fire in the building’s garage, which appeared to have spread to the house. They could hear the sounds of a smoke alarm blaring as an injured woman met them in front of the home.
“One of the residents of this residence was out greeting the fire crew, she had some serious injuries that were sustained in the fire. She was treated by our crews. She also reported to us there was another resident of the home still inside,” Chris Nearing, City of Markham fire chief, said at the scene.
Crews fought “an aggressive interior attack” to get into the building, Nearing said, and found a man in the hallway near the kitchen. They were able to move him outside, where they tried to revive him. The resident succumbed to his injuries as a result of this fire, Nearing said.
Fire officials said the blaze was under control by mid-afternoon. The cause is not yet known.